Mangwolsa Temple Site

Mangwolsa Temple Site lies in the valley formed by two ridges that run south and northwest from Mangwolbong Peak of Namhansanseong Fortress. Facing the Imjin War, Joseon recognised the need to defend the capital and appointed the monk Byeogam Gakseong as commander-in-chief of monk soldiers for the eight provinces, mobilising monk troops from across the country to build Namhansanseong Fortress between 1624 and 1626. After the fortress was completed, nine temples were built within its walls for its defence, and monk soldiers were stationed there, some 350 in total across the nine temples. Mangwolsa was responsible for the section around Dongjangdae, the eastern command post of the fortress. The temple survived intact into the late Joseon period, but on 1 August 1907 it was completely destroyed when the Japanese colonial authorities blew it up while confiscating gunpowder and weapons stored at various points within the fortress. From the 1990s Mangwolsa was restored, and today its Daeungbojeon Hall, Geungnakbojeon Hall, a thirteen-storey Jeokmyeolbogungtap (a stupa enshrining relics of the Buddha), a bell pavilion, a one-pillar gate and monks' quarters have all been rebuilt. The thirteen-storey stupa in particular enshrines genuine relics (sari) of the Buddha that Monk Seongbeop, who rebuilt the temple, personally received from the Prime Minister of India, Gandhi. Little of Mangwolsa's original form can now be traced, but a large millstone 167 cm in diameter gives some sense of the scale of the monk soldiers once attached to the temple.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gwangju, Gyeonggi

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물